Spain’s interior minister has accused the Basque separatist group ETA of trying to commit a massacre after a car bomb exploded at a police barracks in the early hours.

One officer was killed and four others were injured in the attack, which has been blamed on the Basque seperatist organisation, although there has been no claim of responsibility.

The bomb went off just before 3am in a Civil Guard barracks in Legutiano in northern Spain’s Basque country.

There were 29 people asleep inside at the time, including five children. Police say there was no advance warning for the blast.

Officers wore masks to protect their identity from ETA rebels as they searched the crime scene.

The group wants independence for the Basque country and has killed more than 820 people in its decades-long campaign.

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